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| "Psychology and the Good Life" in session. |
(Easter
2018: This homily was given on April 1, 2018 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly,
R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Acts
10” 34-43; Psalm 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Colossians 3: 1-4; John 20: 1-9.)
For the audio version of this homily, click here: Easter 2018]
Do
you know what the most popular class is at Yale University this semester? Actually, it’s not only the most popular
class there this semester, it’s also the most popular class in the school’s
316-year history. One thousand, one
hundred and eighty-two students (roughly a quarter of the school’s population)
are enrolled. It’s held every Tuesday
and Thursday at the university’s concert hall. It’s held there because that’s
the only place on the Yale campus that’s big enough to accommodate such a large
group.
So,
what is this course that so many have signed up for, in spite of the fact that
for most of them (if not all of them) the course is just an elective, and not a
requirement?
Microbiology?
Chemical
Engineering?
Astrophysics?
No,
not even close. The most popular course
at Yale this year—and in the entire history of the university—is a course on
HAPPINESS! It’s called, “Psychology and
the Good Life,” and it’s taught by psych professor Laurie Santos. Recently Dr. Santos was quoted in the New
York Times as saying she believes her course is so popular because so many Yale
students “had to deprioritize their happiness to gain admission to the school.”
One
Yale student, I would say, got to the root of the matter when he said that
enrollment in classes like this is “a cry for help.”
By
the way, I should mention at this point that positive psychology or so-called
“Happiness 101” courses like this one can also be found at other colleges and
universities today. It’s not a
phenomenon that’s unique to Yale.
Now,
please don’t misunderstand me here. I
don’t think these courses, per se, are bad.
Hopefully, they do a lot of good.
But what
I want to know is: what is going on—or not
going on—in the emotional and spiritual lives of these young people that causes
them to have such difficulties dealing with the normal circumstances of daily
living? Aren’t these supposed to be some
of the smartest young men and women in America right now?
Perhaps
the students at Yale would do well to go back and explore their roots—and here
I mean their academic roots. Many people these days are into that kind of
thing, are they not? A lot of people in
our country right now are having their DNA analyzed so they can discover their
ethnic and national roots. And many of
them are surprised at what they find when they get the results (or so they tell
us on the television commercials!).
Well,
here I’m suggesting that these students at Yale rediscover their educational roots. If they do, I think some of them, at least, will
be equally surprised by what they discover.
Do
you know what the original purpose of Yale University was? Do you know why it was founded back in 1701? I don’t think most people do. Yale, like other Ivy League schools, was
originally founded to train Protestant
ministers! In the case of Yale, it
was to train ministers of the Congregational Protestant Church for ministry.
Oh,
how things have changed! (Although they still
do have a divinity school there.)
Now,
what if it were possible to bring back some of the original graduates of
Yale—to bring them into the world of 2018
as they were on the day of their graduation in the early 18th
century—and allow them to speak to the Yale students of today? If we could do that, if it were possible to
do such a thing, what do you think those original graduates would say?
I’ll
tell you what I think they would say. I
think they would say,
You mean, you don’t know? You young men and women don’t already know? You don’t already know the meaning of life? You don’t know where to look to find happiness and peace and strength during your time on this earth? We knew those things three centuries ago!
We knew that we were created in God’s image, and that the Lord loved us with an eternal love. That fact alone gave us great joy and happiness! We knew that the meaning of life was to live in a personal relationship with Almighty God, and to follow his plan for our lives. We knew that there would be obstacles and difficulties and problems that we would face along the way, but we also knew that we could rely on the Lord to help us deal with those things. We knew the words of St. Paul from Scripture—“I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me”—and we knew that we should apply those words to our own lives.We knew all these things because we believed that Jesus Christ was risen, and alive, and with us! We believed in the very depths of our hearts that Jesus had conquered sin, Satan and eternal death by his resurrection on Easter Sunday, and that he would share that risen life with us even here on this earth—although we knew we couldn’t experience the fullness of it until we got to heaven after we died.We knew all these things because we were taught them in our families, and in the churches we worshipped at every Sunday—and from our studies at Yale.What, exactly, are they teaching you in the 21st century at our alma mater?
Oh, if
they only knew!
Actually,
they probably do know. I believe that
those who are living with the Lord in eternity know a lot about what’s going on
down here on earth.
The
great St. Augustine once said, “Oh Lord, you made us for yourself, and our
hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
He said that after his conversion—after his conversion from a hedonistic
lifestyle that would have made Hugh Hefner proud.
Augustine
had a restless heart. So do those
students at Yale. And so do you and
I. The restlessness never goes away
completely in this life; it will only end completely when we see the Lord face
to face in his kingdom. But much of it
can be taken away here if we understand the meaning of life and act on that
understanding. In other words, if we
understand the importance of developing a personal relationship with God and of
seeking to do his will every day.
The
very first graduates of Yale University knew that. It’s why they were training to be ministers.
I
hope the teachers of these “Happiness 101” courses make it clear to their
students that if they want to find a measure of happiness on earth in the midst
of all the stress and all the suffering, they will need to develop a strong
spiritual life. Psychological insights, as
important as they might be, are no substitute for a personal relationship with
the Lord of the universe! For a
Catholic, they can never be a substitute for a personal relationship with the
risen Christ: a relationship that’s nourished by prayer and the sacraments.
I
hope and pray that you, personally, believe that—because it’s the truth. If you do believe it, of course, then I (or
some other priest) will obviously see you at Mass next weekend—and every
weekend thereafter.
